An interesting discussion is currently raging through the world of computing, or more accurately, through the world of bloggers and analysts. It basically comes down to this: should the iPad be included in laptop and desktop sales figures? If it is included - Apple becomes the largest PC manufacturer in the United States. But, if the iPad should be included - why not the modern smartphone?

... a smartphone is the convergence point of a dumb phone and a PC; it has ancestors in both.

Smartphones have come to imitate (even surpass) many of the functions of the PC. I would not say that smartphones are the product of a convergence of phone and PC but, instead, phones becoming more similar to PCs. I'm not saying that this is an especially important distinction in general, just that it is the best way of defining the categories.